How Would You Answer the Question “Are You a Christian?” (William Dwight McKissic, Sr)

“Are you a Christian?” was the question that the gunman in the recent Oregon community college shooting asked many of his victims. The individuals who answered “Yes,” were shot in the head. The ones who did not answer, or answered “No” were shot in the legs. Why did the gunman deliberately target “Christians” for the severest punishment? The Bible indicates that the world would be hostile toward people whose faith is centered in Christ in the last days.

Paul, Peter and Jesus did not write or speak prescriptively, but rather descriptively, concerning the end times. They had been shown by Divine insight and foresight what would happen futuristically. Amazingly and accurately they described, what’s unfolding before our very eyes. In I Timothy 4:1-2, the Apostle Paul stated:

“Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron,” [underline and bold print mine]

The Oregon gunman, the Charleston shooter (Dylan Root), the Roanoke, VA, shooter and the ISIS beheaders, all had their “conscience seared with a hot iron.” You cannot commit the heinous crimes that they committed unless you have a seared conscience. While writing this post, eleven followers of Christ were beheaded in Syria because of their faith.

Jesus described a world that would be hostile toward His followers in the last days.

“But when they arrest you and deliver you up, do not worry beforehand, or premeditate what you will speak. But whatever is given you in that hour, speak that; for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit” (Mark 13:11).

The Apostle Peter wrote, “But the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers.” (1 Peter 4:7)

In light of the fact that the end time is near, my thesis is:

Believers are to be devoted to prayer and depend on the Holy Spirit to inspire answers to end- time persecution.

Jesus said that He “was hated without a cause” (John 15:25). Jesus taught that the world hated Him before they hated His followers (John 15:18). Jesus declared that His followers would be hated by the world (John 17:14). In Luke 21:17, Jesus said one of the signs of His coming would be “And you will be hated by all for my name sake.” “…and they will put some of you to death” (Luke 21:16b).

In Charleston, in Oregon, the beheading of the Coptic Christians in the Middle East, the church burnings and in the arrest of Kim Davis, we are seeing these Scriptures fulfilled concerning the persecution of believers in the last days.

Kim Davis exhibited the courage, character and biblical values of Rosa Parks and Bree Newsome. Newsome took down the racist Confederate flag in South Carolina. All three ladies paid a sacrifice for standing up for the values and faith of the Lord Jesus. Kim Davis is being asked to deny her faith in order to maintain her job. No one in America should be asked to do that. I applaud and appreciate Kim Davis with every fiber of my being. Indeed, her stand is analogous to Rosa Parks’ stand.

In Oregon, the shooter asked, “Are you a Christian?” Is “Christian” the correct word to label Christ’s followers? The word “Christian” is found only three times in Scripture: Acts 11:26; Acts 26:28; 1 Peter 4:16.

In Acts 11:26c, “the disciples were first calledChristians in Antioch” [Underlines mine]. The disciples were “called” Christians by the people who lived in Antioch. Antioch was largely a Gentile city. One of the meanings of the world “Gentile” is “people without God.” The disciples were called Christians by people without God in Antioch.

In Acts 26:28, Luke records, “Then Agrippa said to Paul, ‘You almost persuade me to become a Christian.’” Who was Agrippa? He was a Gentile king and a non-believer. Paul said to Agrippa, “I would to God that not only you, but also all who hear me today, might become…such as I am, except for these chains” (Acts 26:29). Paul did not call himself a “Christian” here. It was a pagan king who invoked the term “Christian.”

In 1 Peter 4:16, Peter recorded, “Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in this matter.’’ The language used in official indictments against believers, referenced the believer as a “Christian.” Peter lifted this term (“Christian”) from the indictment papers. Peter referred to believers as a “chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people…the people of God…” (1 Peter 2:9-10). The word “Christian” originated with pagans, who used that term as a term of derision and disdain toward authentic followers of Christ.

What words were used to describe Christ’s followers in the Bible? The primary word used to describe Christ’s followers was “disciple”: Isaiah 8:16, Matthew 13:51-52, Matthew 28:19-20. Believers were also called “saints” (Romans 1:7). Christ’s followers were also known as:

“members of the household of faith” (Galatians 6:10)

“fellow citizens with the saints” (Ephesians 2:19)

“members of the household of God (Ephesians 2:19)

“citizens of heaven” (Philippians 3:20)

“ambassadors for Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:20)

“brother in the kingdom of Jesus Christ” (Rev. 1:9)

“people of the way” (Acts 9:1-2)

Major Point: neither Jesus nor the biblical writers called Christ’s followers—“Christians.” Jesus did not say “go make Christians.” He said “go make disciples.” Disciples are referenced over 200 times in Scripture; “Christians” only three times. Even if one views the 1 Peter 4:16 reference as affirming the word “Christian,” the preponderance of evidence still weighs heavier toward our identity being that of a disciple. The Oregon gunman may have shot no matter how one answered the question; so that is not my point here. My point is, the Bible does not teach that followers of Christ were to be labeled “Christian”; so, why should one feel obligated to answer a demon-filled maniac who ask you to identify yourself in a way the Bible never affirms such a moniker for believers.

How should a believer or follower of Christ have responded to the Oregon shooter?

There was no biblical obligation to answer his question.

The Bible says that the Holy Spirit will direct you in that hour as to what to say. One would have to trust the Holy Spirit to give him or her exactly what to say at that hour.

From a biblical point of view, a believer could have responded with any of the above biblical answers if you so choose.

In no way, shape, form or fashion would I have denied Christ.

If I chose to answer the Oregon gunman, I might have answered, “I am a disciple of the Kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 13:51-52). “I am a disciple of Christ”; “I am a brother in the Kingdom of Jesus Christ.”

I would not have answered, “I am a Christian,” because I really don’t know how the gunman defined “Christian.” Mormons, Ku Klux Klan and Louis Farrakhan all call themselves “Christians.” I certainly share none of their belief systems or Christology. Again, not knowing what the Oregon gunman meant by “Are you a Christian,” I would have had to rely totally on the Holy Spirit to know whether or not to answer or what answer to give. After all, Jesus said the Spirit would provide us with the answer in the hour that we need it (Mark 13:11).

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I don’t suppose any of us is ever going to know precisely what we are going to do in a situation like that and speculation is pointless.

I agree, Dwight, that we need not play the criminal’s game, and I think we also agree that we must not deny the Savior’s name. So, what must we do? I guess I pray that I never find out and that if I do, the Spirit will guide my words.

October 9, 2015 2:03 am

D.L. Payton

Dave

To quote you….yep

October 10, 2015 6:59 pm

Jess

William,

I’m not convinced the Oregon shooter asked the question, “Are you a Christian?”
Maybe you can direct me to the news article. I don’t know if this is a rumor or it’s something that really happened. I did hear a man say that is what his son told him, but I don’t know if it was true.

I do know if someone is close enough to shoot me in the head, I’m close enough to attack them first.

There were MANY reports that the shooter asked if people were Christians. There are some on the far/extreme left who are denying those sources. Since none of us were there we can only rely on second hand testimony.

We do know that the Democratic/left wing press, being anti-Christian at the core, will deny on any evidence that there anything to do with Christianity in this. We know that some on the right will magnify and dramatize the Christian persecution angle.

But, Dwight’s point is higher than the petty squabbles. For what will we stand and die?

October 9, 2015 1:47 pm

Bill Mac

I think we, in the safety of our homes and offices, all like to think we would spring into action like a superhero if we were confronted with a gunman. I think it is unwise to suggest, like Ben Carson, that if we had been there things would be different, or if the teachers had been packing there would be a different outcome.

October 9, 2015 10:05 am

Jess

Bill Mac,

I suppose the reason I can say what I did is because it happened to me. A gunman was shooting randomly at homes, I confronted him while he was on his porch, I was in his yard. He aimed at me, I stepped behind a bush and he pulled the trigger but his gun snapped. He said, “oh no,” I’m out of shells.

Ben Carson did not suggest if he’d been there things would have been different. He only said what he’d have done had he been there. There is a difference. He may have simply gotten shot first, and his plan might have spoiled. But just as I have thought that I would rush a person on an airplane trying to takeover the cockpit, I have no orobl with Carson saying that he would rush the gunman. Ultimately, unless we are in the situation none of us could say definitively what we’d do.

October 9, 2015 10:41 am

Tarheel

Good points, Dwight.

If you ask any law enforcement or military officer “what is best and most effective way to stop an active shooting event.”

Every one of them worth their salt will tell you something to the effect of “You have to take out the shooter”.

October 9, 2015 11:42 am

Bill Mac

I like to think I’d rush the gunman too, but I suspect most people are far braver in theory than they are in practice.

October 9, 2015 11:52 am

Tarheel

Yep. I am not saying I would charge the shooter….I am saying it clearly the most strategically effective way to stop an active shooter.

In fact with this shooting in Oregon – more likely would have died.been wounded had that man not charged, blocked the door and took (I think) 5 bullets in the process! If only he had been allowed to be legally armed.

I have reacted that way in similar situations, but only because I’ve been conditioned in my training in the Marines to do so.

For many of today’s younger folks who have spent time playing 1st person shooter video games, they are conditioned by the games to react a certain way according to the parameters of the games. If it is beneficial to duck and cover momentarily, then I suspect that’s what they would do in a real situation. If they regularly play in some sort of safe mode, then they may jump into the line of fire without thinking.

October 9, 2015 11:56 am

D.L. Payton

Bill Mac

I agree that we don’t know what we would do. However, if the teachers were carrying it could have been a far different story. Note the word “could’, we will never know. Keep in mind I am a Montanan and there are more guns in Montana than people. As an aside there has never been a terrorist attack in Montana…cause and effect… don’t know. I think I am correct in saying that in Israel teachers started carrying in 1974 and there has not been an attack on a school since that time.

The fact that the guard was carrying mace is beyond belief and beyond my gun-totin mind (not to mention in my backpack and in my pickup) to comprehend.

The seed of the Gospel is often best watered by the blood of martyrs. This was well enough known among the early Church in Rome where churches had to rein in members of their congregations who were intentionally seeking martyrdom because they knew it would result in more converts.

As it is today in the Middle East, brothers and sisters on the ground there report that ISIS is doing more for the spread of the Gospel than many missionaries have done over the past several decades. Every martyr ISIS makes results in many conversions. Even some members of ISIS have come to Christ. They’re martyred almost immediately, of course. You’ll never hear this in the news. (That last statement is becoming almost cliche already.) Right now, in spite of ISIS, or perhaps through the evil work of ISIS, there is a tremendous work of God happening in the Middle East. Pray for it to continue as you pray for the martyrdom to stop.

In any case, we should never discount the witness of a martyr. That includes those here in the United States. While I mourn with the families who lost loved ones in the Oregon and Charleston shootings, I highly suspect that the ground here is being watered for Gospel seeds. We can’t back off on the proclamation of the Gospel one bit, and in fact we must redouble our efforts because of this even if it eventually means that more will be martyred right here in the US.

October 9, 2015 12:16 pm

Donald Holmes

Joseph Fletcher argues that it might be ok….

“one could surely pretend to have no faith in God, or in any combination of gods, if it were necessary for loving cause. We could make a formal but false apostasy under persecution for the sake of dependents or the life of an illegal underground church. […] God knows the secrets of the heart; he knows when he is denied falsely and lovingly, and he also knows when he is acclaimed falsely and unlovingly.” (Fletcher, Situation Ethics, 72)

Denying Christ for any reason is scary business. What would I do to save the lives of my grandchildren? Anything!

But if I save their lives by denying the Savior, have I done them a favor?

These are tough issues.

Isn’t it better to die FOR Christ than to live having denied him? Those Coptics on the beach could have lived by denying Christ. They chose death over denying him – as have martyrs through the years.

Looking for a path of life-preservation by spinning our denial of Christ seems a treacherous course to me.

October 9, 2015 1:51 pm

Donald Holmes

“These are tough issues.”

Truth!

What should the reaction of the church be toward a member who denied Christ under duress?

October 9, 2015 2:28 pm

D.L. Payton

Donald

The church would forgive and restore like any other situation where there is repentance. Jesus lone will judge the person when he stands before the Bema Seat.

October 10, 2015 7:21 pm

D.L. Payton

It has been many years since I read Fletcher. However the title “situation” ethics says it all. Contrary to Fletcher’s assertion our ethics cannot be determined by the situation. I am the first to admit that it often is, but that does not make it right. Ethics is defined as the “oughtness” of the Christian life. The “oughtness” for the Christian is static and never changes. Morality is what we do and that is all over the board.

It would be silly to try and answer this question with a gun pointed at your head/leg. The question was posed by this killer to inflict fear. Everyone is going to have a different reaction to fear. Mine, like Carson’s, would not be to suggest any answer relevant to the element of fear, but to react with some means of opposition within my control when possible.

Even though the media wants to make this a “Christian” thing on a host of different fronts. That in and of itself could not be further from the truth.

October 9, 2015 12:59 pm

Donald Holmes

For what beliefs should we be willing to die?

Balthasar Hubmaier (Anabaptist) recanted under the torture of the rack at the hands of Reformers. Afterwards he wrote his Short Apology of 1526 saying “I may err—-I am a man—-but a heretic I cannot be… O God, pardon me my weakness” Preaching again in Nikolsburg he baptized thousands before being again arrested and tortured. This time he did not recant and was burned at the stake. His wife, who encouraged him to remain steadfast, was 8 days afterwards thrown from a bridge into the Danube with a rock tied around her neck.

The men who had been seized with him recanted, except two who likewise died in flames.

October 9, 2015 1:05 pm

D.L. Payton

Donald

True, that is history and I am not a revisionist. I may recant in such a circumstance..I pray that I never have the occasion to find out. If I do recant that does not make it right nor will I lose my salvation

October 10, 2015 7:33 pm

Donald

I imagine that none of us are at our best when we “see the elephant” without some preparation. It would seem that the time has come to take such preparation seriously.

October 11, 2015 6:30 pm

Chief Katie

Outstanding article Dwight. I truly enjoyed it while asking myself the very questions you have.

I agree 100% on Kim Davis. I’m wondering how many Christians will fill the jails?

God Bless

October 9, 2015 7:24 pm

John Wylie

Brother McKissic,

This was a great, thought provoking article. I really loved the list of labels that the Bible uses for believers in Christ. And this article demonstrated that this issue is a bit more complex than what most believers would make it. Thank you, brother.

Wylie,
It’s interesting how we have embraced the label/identity/appellation “Christian” without filtering it through a biblical grid. If I’m forced to reduce my religious identity to one word, they one word would be disciple or a hyphoneated word Kingdom-citizen.

I call this a “rocking chair discussion”. It gives us something to do, but doesn’t take us anywhere.

I have to think i’d say I was a Christian. It’d be too obvious to do otherwise. The more likely scenario is what will our response be when a good friend takes God’s name in vain, wants to tell us a dirty joke, or pass along some juicy gossip. I think there’s a lot more failure in those things.

With a gun pointed at you, if asked if you are a Christian, you could say, “What about the guy behind you?” then attempt to grab his gun from him.

I think it was Mike Huckabee who said, a gun free zone is a sitting duck zone. I agree.
I’m glad our local college has security guards armed with real guns.
I’m for concealed carry gun permits.
Usually the only thing that stops a bad man with a gun, is a good man with a gun.

Are you by chance from Montana 🙂 In Montana we have more guns that people and we intend to keep it that way. Montana is anything but a gun free zone and we have never had an attack on a school, in a theater,or a terrorist attack. Cause and effect…don’t know…just sayin!